Are the Biblical Hebrews the descendants of slaves today in America?

Answer 1

No they are not, nor are the slaves imported from West Africa descendants of the Hebrews. The Biblical story about the Hebrews being slaves in ancient Egypt is just that - a story. Not a single trace of their having lived in ancient Egypt has ever been dug up, nor do any of the thousands of meticulous Egyptian records mention the existence of a viceroy called Joseph; nor is there any mention or other historic proof of any of the seven Plagues, or of a whole Egyptian army including the Pharaoh having been drowned in a freak flooding of the Red Sea.

Jews were never slaves anywhere; in reality they were a nomadic people living in western Mesopotamia who gradually drifted west into the area later called Israel or Palestine.

• Answer 2

Yes, some of the Jews are in America. Most are in Israel.

The Ipuwer papyrus describes Egypt's experiencing the Plagues: "Pestilence is throughout the land....the river is blood, death is not scarce...there is no food...neither fruit nor herbs can be found...barley has perished...all is ruin...the statues are burned" (Professor John van Seters, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology no. 50). The plagues were also described by ancient historians, including Herodotus and Diodorus. The Exodus is mentioned by Strabo, Berosus, Artapanus, Numenius, Justin, and Tacitus.

But in any case, few nations are content to record embarrassing setbacks honestly. Even today, British and American textbooks describe the American Revolution in very different ways.

An example of the above principle:

The destruction of Sennacherib's army at the walls of Jerusalem was denied by secular theorists, because the Assyrians made no mention of it. But then it was found that Berosus and Herodotus both state that Sennacherib's military campaign in Judea ended in plague and defeat. It should not surprise us that the Assyrians themselves didn't record their own losses.

It is only the Hebrew Bible, because of its Divine origin, that exposes the faults of its own people and even magnifies them.

In no other religious text can one find such openness. None of the Israelites were immune to strong criticism: Abraham (Genesis 16:5), Reuben (Gen.ch.35), Simeon and Levi (Gen.ch.34 and 49), Judah (Gen.ch.38), Joseph's brothers (Gen.ch.37), Moses (Numbers ch.20), Aaron (Exodus 32:2-4), Samson (Judges 14:1-3), Eli's sons (1 Samuel 2:12), Samuel's sons (1 Samuel 8:1-3), Saul (1 Samuel ch.15), David (2 Samuel ch.11-12), Solomon (1 Kings ch.11), and many others.

Answer 2

Your question can be read two ways.One - are the Biblical Hebrews' modern Jewish descendants, who are the descendants of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, found today in America?

Answer: Some Jews (Hebrews' descendants) are in America, and some are not.

Two - Are the Biblical Hebrews the ancestors of the African-Americans, who were enslaved in America until 1865?

Answer:

No; that is a fanciful notion, or wishful thinking, contradicted by DNA studies.
Just as today, the Hebrews came in differing skin-tones, heights, and body-types. Our tradition is that the twelve sons of Jacob (the 12 Israelite Tribes) were not completely similar to each other in appearance, though none of them was really dark-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis 12:11).

Abraham and Sarah came from southern Iraq and their wider family from northern Iraq. Since DNA tests have shown that Jews intermarried infrequently throughout history, Abraham and the Israelites probably looked like Jews today.

DNA testing of Jewish communities worldwide has shown that they are all interrelated and of Middle Eastern genetics, not African or Egyptian.

In 2000, the analysis of a report by Nicholas Wade "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, evidence of relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition."

• Link: What race were the Israelites?
  

The only exception to this is the Ethiopian Black Jews, who show only a trace of DNA connection to other Jewish communities. Western ethnologists today hold the view that the Jews of Gondar (Ethiopia) either emerged from a Judaizing strain among Ethiopian Christians, or were converted by Yemeni Jews who crossed the Red Sea.

A study by Professors Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East.

Hammer et al. in 2000, and the team of Shen in 2004, arrive at similar conclusions, namely that the DNA of the Ethiopian Jews probably indicates a conversion of local populations.
It has been estimated that this happened some 2,000 years ago.

And in America:
The beliefs and practices of Black Hebrew groups vary considerably.

As Judaism sees it, the issue with their claims of Hebrew ancestry is that they can produce no generally-accepted evidence of actual Semitic descent. These groups created themselves spontaneously within recent decades, from within the wider African-American population.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Evidence of the Exodus (1)

Link: Evidence of the Exodus (2)

Link: Evidence of the Exodus (3)

Link: Reliability of the Torah

Answer 3

Your question can be read two ways.

One - are the Biblical Hebrews' modern Jewish descendants, who are the descendants of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, found today in America?

Answer: Some Jews (Hebrews' descendants) are in America, and some are not.

Two - Are the Biblical Hebrews the ancestors of the African-Americans, who were enslaved in America until 1865?

Answer:

No; that is a fanciful notion, or wishful thinking, contradicted by DNA studies.
Just as today, the Hebrews came in differing skin-tones, heights, and body-types. Our tradition is that the twelve sons of Jacob (the 12 Israelite Tribes) were not completely similar to each other in appearance, though none of them was really dark-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis 12:11).

Abraham and Sarah came from southern Iraq and their wider family from northern Iraq. Since DNA tests have shown that Jews intermarried infrequently throughout history, Abraham and the Israelites probably looked like Jews today.

DNA testing of Jewish communities worldwide has shown that they are all interrelated and of Middle Eastern genetics, not African or Egyptian.

In 2000, the analysis of a report by Nicholas Wade "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, evidence of relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition." (See: What race were the Israelites?)

The only exception to this is the Ethiopian Black Jews, who show only a trace of DNA connection to other Jewish communities. Western ethnologists today hold the view that the Jews of Gondar (Ethiopia) either emerged from a Judaizing strain among Ethiopian Christians, or were converted by Yemeni Jews who crossed the Red Sea.

A study by Professors Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East.

Hammer et al. in 2000, and the team of Shen in 2004, arrive at similar conclusions, namely that the DNA of the Ethiopian Jews probably indicates a conversion of local populations.
It has been estimated that this happened some 2,000 years ago.

And in America:
The beliefs and practices of Black Hebrew groups vary considerably.

As Judaism sees it, the issue with their claims of Hebrew ancestry is that they can produce no generally-accepted evidence of actual Semitic descent. These groups created themselves spontaneously within recent decades, from within the wider African-American population.

Answer 4

No